Larkspur Lists Its Worst Streets

The topic might seem as boring as, well, asphalt ... but the issue of Larkspur's decaying roads tends to stir up some animated discussions.

After the Metropolitan Transportation Commission tagged Larkspur's roads with the worst rating in Marin County, it became something of a rallying point for city leaders to fix the streets.

The Larkspur City Council at its May 1 meeting heard a recommendation to city staff to put Larkspur Landing Circle and Industrial Way at the top of its fix-it list. Those two roads, along with South Eliseo, have the worst ratings in Larkspur.

"I got an education, because the presenter said some parts of Larkspur Landing Circle were horrible and some were fantastic. It's because of the buses, the heavy trucks and the Marin Airporter that uses the same route," Larkspur City Manager Dan Swartz said.

On a scale of 0-100, a rating of 30 or below means the road has failed. That means severe cracking and potholes. Industrial Way is at the bottom (13.9), followed by South Eliseo (19.1) and Larkspur Landing Circle (19.6). Two other roadways, South Magnolia (30.2) and Hillview (30.4) are right on the edge.

The initial cost estimate to repair the city roads is $21,608,591, including $231,604 for Industrial Way and $662,458 for Larkspur Landing Circle. Madrone Canyon is expected to be the costliest project at $2,170,409.

earlier, "Take a long look at the wash board asphalt on Sir Francis Drake Blvd, East bound at Barry Way/Eliseo Dr, in Greenbrae. Better yet El Portal and all roads off of El Portal, through out the Bon Air Apt. area hills. They are beat and got worse after the pipe and repave of S. Eliseo and the million trucks up and down the streets during the hillside recovery and retaining walls above Via Casitas. These areas enjoy new paving yet they forgot about all of us that live in the area that have to travel these tributary roads riddled with cracks and pot holes before the work and are 10 times worse since the work."

Larkspur's Public Works Department has also been working on a timeline to repair the city's aging bridges, including the Bon Air Bridge and the Alexander Street Bridge.

Swartz noted that all the streets have challenges, especially those on hills that deal with runoff from winter storms.

Baltimore Park received the best rating of the roadways that were examined, with a 63.7 putting it in "fair" condition.

"It's not like any one neighborhood was truly horrible," Swartz said. "The only ones that jumped out were Larkspur Landing Circle and Industrial."

The City Council will consider the recommendation at its June 5 meeting.

Swartz also said the City is consulting with the Ross Valley Sanitary District and the Marin Municipal Water District regarding the timing of road repair and any repairs to underground pipelines. The Ross Valley Sanitary District has been under a microscope in recent years after a number of sewage spills, including one in 2011 that released more than 2 million gallons in the Kentfield area.